Lords of Norwold - The Mighty Guf Fish

Count Diego brought the air raft to
a near stop when he saw the crowd of people milling about the
centre of town. Unfortunately, this late in the evening, the
fishermen were coming in from the harbour, dragging their bounty
with them. A great clamour came from the crowd.

"The Guf Fish! The mighty Guf Fish!"
came the shouts. And, "Haldebar, you old pirate you!"

Eowyn murmured to Diego, "I want to
see what this is all about."

Diego glanced at Aligorum, whose
nostrils were pricked as she stared at the crowd in
fascination.

The count smirked, "Alright. But
watch the cat."

It was Afass that he party had
bought the air raft. The craft had been a necessity for following
Stan and the runestone, due to their discovery that he too had
bought such a device. It was powered by potions, fed into the
funnel at the back. It could hold a respectable amount of cargo,
and for the long haul was faster than a horse. Having made it to
Gufetir in record time, Count Diego felt they could afford to check
out the local yokels.

Standing on a few nearby crates,
they were able to survey the crowd. A surprising number of the
fishermen wore silk or woollen robes. The fellow in the centre,
wearing a green silk robe, was being patted on the back and
congratulated. Next to him, a huge fish was being hung for all to
see. Its golden scales glinted dully in the sun.

"Frankly, I don't see what
the--hey!" Diego broke off when Aligorum started forward through
the crowd.

"We better follow her," Eowyn
said.

The rakasta had a knack for worming
her way through the crowd. Unfortunately, Diego did not have that
same knack. Several humphs and pardon mes later, they stood at the
centre of the ring. Aligorum's eyes were fixed on the
fish.

"You there," the man in the green
silk called to Diego, "Have you ever tasted the mighty Guf
fish?"

"Can't say that I have."

There was an arrogance behind his
smile, "Well tonight you will!"

"Does the Guf Fish taste good?"
Whispered Eowyn to one of the fishermen. He was a poor looking
fellow, his rags barely holding together.

He considered the question, "Ma'am,
that ain't the point."

"What is the point?"

"The Guf Fish, its worth a month's
fishin' just to catch yerself one."

"How so?"

"Its gold."

"-en," Diego corrected primly,
without glancing over, "Its golden."

"Nar, its gold. Them scales. Them's
gold!"

"Oh?" Diego asked in an over casual
manner, "Gold? How much are we talking exactly?"

"Hoo! We talkin' 'bout at least 12
or so..."

"Bah."

"It may not be much fer a lord like
yerself, but get yerself a school of 'em and ye can retire. That's
quite somethin' fer us that gots no magic."

Diego took a glance at the rakasta,
still mesmerised by the fish.

"Hey uh, Haldebar is it?"

"Yes," the man in the green silk
called over his shoulder as the crowd was about to carry him
away.

"You might want to keep an eye on
the cat."

Heldebar turned to Diego and raised
a brow, "Sir, your slave is your own responsibility."

Aligorum glared back at Diego, until
her attention was drawn to the man in green silk robes. He kept
making hurried, furtive glances her way, as if concerned she would
suddenly bolt for the kitchen, where the fish was even now being
prepared.

This prompted the rakasta to don her
best "all-knowing cat" smile. This had the effect of frustrating
Haldebar to no end.

Eowyn returned the to the table,
"Well guys, we better quietly return to the raft about
now."

Diego glared at Aligorum.

"What? What?"

"Enough time to pull it out of your
gullet later. Let's get to the raft."

The group made their way hurriedly,
but quietly, to the air raft.

"As I was heading back from the
raft, I noticed a couple of men talking about it. It was stolen
from the kitchen." Eowyn explained as they poured another potion
into the funnel device.

Diego just glared at
Aligorum.

"I was there with you the whole
time, how could I have done it?"

"There they are!"

A mob stormed out of the tavern,
running after the raft as it sped out of town.

"Go this way." Eowyn gestured at a
side road.

"Why?"

"Misdirection."

They went down the road, which led
close to the water.

"Here, this house."

Diego stared at her.

"Just do it."

They parked the raft behind the
house, which was more of a hovel really.

"If you still have the scales, maybe
we could give those..."

Diego kept worrying over the fish,
and Aligorum kept denying. So neither one of them saw Eowyn take a
bundle out of the raft, and walk it over to the doorstep of the
house.